OEM News and Industry Appointments

Beechcraft Denali Makes First Flight

Textron Aviation’s new single-engine Beechcraft Denali turboprop flew for the first time in late November, marking the start of the flight test program.

According to Ron Draper, President and CEO, Textron Aviation, “With its more environmentally friendly engine and largest cabin in its class, [the Denali] is an aircraft that will change the landscape for high-performance singleengine turboprop aircraft.”

Piloted by Senior Test Pilot Peter Gracey and Chief Test Pilot Dustin Smisor, the Beechcraft Denali prototype aircraft, powered by GE Aviation’s new Catalyst engine, took off from the company’s west campus at Eisenhower International Airport.

During its 2-hour and 50-minute maiden flight, the team tested the aircraft’s performance, stability and control, as well as its propulsion, environmental, flight controls and avionics systems. The aircraft reached an altitude of 15,600 feet and attained a speed of 180 knots.

The Denali prototype aircraft, along with two additional flight test articles and three full airframe ground test articles, will continue to expand on operational goals, focusing on testing aircraft systems, engine, avionics and overall performance.

The company targets certification for the Denali in 2023. Once certified, it should be capable of a cruise speed of 285kts and offer a range of 1,600 nautical miles at high-speed cruise, carrying one pilot and four passengers. That would enable passengers to fly from Los Angeles to Chicago, New York to Miami, or London to Moscow non-stop.

The FADEC-controlled 1,300shp GE Catalyst engine will burn up to 20% less fuel than older turboprop technologies, Textron says, while in the cockpit pilots will utilize the Garmin G3000 avionics suite.

More information from www.txtav.com

RECAP on Key Business Aviation news, appointments, and events with AVBUYER

Airbus Corporate Helicopters signed a renewal of the highly successful design collaboration with Mercedes-Benz which introduced the concept of partnerships between the automotive and aerospace industries in 2010. Since launch, 26 unique examples of the ACH145 Mercedes-Benz Style Edition have been sold, with the companies revealing a facelift of the helicopter is already underway to further reflect contemporary design values.

In additional news, The Helicopter Company (THC), the first and only helicopter services provider licensed to operate commercial flights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has signed a second purchase agreement with Airbus Helicopters, for twenty of the newly launched five bladed H145 and six ACH160 models. https://www.airbus.com/en/ products-services/helicopters

AirGO and Victor announced a partnership which will see the introduction of ‘opt-out’ Sustainable Aviation Fuel into the standard pricing structure of charter flights. A new quotation format will promote the use of, and invert the approach of, existing schemes by asking buyers if they want to ‘opt-out’ of the program, rather than requiring them to ‘opt-in’ at the end of the transaction. https://airgo.de and www.flyvictor.com

Falcon 6X Engine Receives Transport Canada Nod

Dassault’s Falcon 6X moved a step nearer certification after Pratt & Whitney Canada received Transport Canada Civil Aviation type certification for the PW812D engine.

According to Maria Della Posta, President of Pratt & Whitney Canada, the engine OEM successfully achieved the PW812D design and program schedule milestones “by working closely with Dassault since the launch of this great program”.

Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier congratulated Pratt & Whitney Canada on the Transport Canada approval. “It’s a major step forward in fuel efficiency, maintainability and performance, helping make the 6X an outstanding new Falcon,” he said.

The engine powers all three of the Falcon 6X aircraft currently in flight-testing, and the aircraft test campaign has accumulated over 500 flight test hours and 150 flights to date. Dassault’s test pilots have praised the smooth handling of the aircraft as it continues to make steady progress toward planned type certification in late 2022.

According to Pratt & Whitney Canada, the PW812D engine has been thoughtfully designed for all the key stakeholders, including the passenger, pilot and maintenance crews, and provides an unmatched experience with an exceptionally quiet and comfortable cabin, making it the quietest engine in its class.

The engine sets the industry standard for maintenance, according to P&WC, requiring 40% less scheduled maintenance and 20% fewer inspections than other engines in its class. Offering an output of 13,500lbs of thrust, the PW812D will provide the Falcon 6X with a range of up to 5,100nm.

More information from www.dassaultfalcon.com or https://pwc.ca

Bell Textron’s Bell 429 and 505 continue to make “exceptional progress” in the European private travel market, according to the company. Purchase agreements were signed for five aircraft by customers in Ukraine recently. The Ukrainian purchase agreements included two Bell 505s, two Bell 429s, and one Bell 407GXi with the newly certified IFR configuration. www.bellflight.com

Bombardier delivered the 1,000th Global aircraft in December. The milestone aircraft – a Global 7500 – joined the NetJets fractional ownership fleet. The Global 7500 “adds a new dimension to our long-range aircraft offerings,” according to Patrick Gallagher, President, Sales, Marketing and Services, NetJets as his company received its newest jet. www.bombardier.com

Gulfstream announced its G500 and G600 both successfully demonstrated steep-approach landings into the UK’s London City Airport, and Switzerland’s Lugano and Sion Airports, an achievement that is “key in the process of securing customers’ access to even more locations worldwide”, according to Mark Burns, President of Gulfstream Aerospace. www.gulfstream.com 

Aero-Dienst Celebrates 15 Years in Vienna

Aero-Dienst, the Nuremberg-based full-service provider for Business Aviation and air ambulance services is celebrating 15 successful years of operations for its maintenance line station in Vienna.

Christian Weigl (left), Manager Maintenance Line Stations Austria, and André Ebach (right), Head of Maintenance at Aero-Dienst

In 2006, Aero-Dienst began providing line services to Vienna-based Learjet operators and has steadily expanded the range of both its services and its authorizations to work on a wider variety of aircraft models and manufacturers, thereby continually increasing its capacity over the years.

In 2017, Dassault Aviation designated the Vienna line station as an Authorized Service Center.

According to Aero-Dienst, this success story has only been possible due to the efforts of the enthusiastic and highly competent Vienna team, which has grown to 10 employees in the last five years. It includes five licensed technicians with multiple type ratings, each of whom has more than 20 years of experience in aircraft maintenance. The team currently completes up to 500 maintenance events per year.

A component shop for wheels and batteries has been integrated into the Vienna line station, making replacement parts available as required.

“In general, our work is guided by our customers’ requirements, as well as those of potential customers,” said Christian Weigl, Head of Aero-Dienst’s Vienna Station. “So, we have set ourselves the goal of steadily expanding our maintenance portfolio to new aircraft types, and growing in a circumspect way.”

In addition to the Vienna station and its headquarters in Nuremberg, Aero-Dienst operates a station in Klagenfurt, and this year saw the opening of a maintenance station in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich. Meanwhile, its component shop in Landsberg am Lech allows Aero-Dienst to provide fast and local repairs for maintenance operators in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. More information from www.aero-dienst.com

Karen Blake was appointed Sales Manager at JetHQ . Ms. Blake previously handled data reporting, system accounting and aircraft databases for client accounts at AMSTAT.

David Caporali has been appointed Vice President of Business Development for Latin America by Jet Support Services, Inc. He brings more than 15 years of industry experience to the role.

Greg Fell became JETNET’s first CEO recently. Among his career highlights, Greg previously served as COO for Gama Aviation leading a massive growth phase for the company that saw it emerge as the largest Part 135 operator in the US, ultimately being acquired by Wheels Up in 2020. “His extensive experience, values, and ethics helped us realize that he was the appropriate person to bring into the fold,” said Tony Esposito, President of JETNET.

Industry Appointments

Transactions for Mente Group, and will be based at the company’s Dallas headquarters. He is responsible for collecting, interpreting and analysing General Aviation market data in order to support Mente Group’s transactions and business development teams.

Stephen Mitchell is the new Head of Sales for the UK and Ireland for Savback Helicopters. He brings 25 years of experience in civil aviation sales to Savback, having begun a career in helicopter sales specializing in Robinson and Leonardo Helicopters transactions.

Amelia Schaefer joined JetHQ as Manager of Market Research. Ms. Schaefer previously worked as a domestic and foreign market research analyst, handling fixed-wing and helicopter transactions at AMSTAT.

Scott Wilbanks was promoted to the role of Senior Vice President of Aircraft Management Sales at Jet Linx, responsible for overseeing the day-today functions of the company’s aircraft management sales team. ❚

Karen Blake David Caporali

Greg Fell Kenny Mazingo